The Lord’s Supper – A Full Meal not Crackers

The Body:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Yeshua in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

The Manna
In Greek, artos [G740 ἄρτος]. In Hebrew: mân [H4478 מָן], meaning: “What is it?”.
Numbers 11:7-8 – “Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars . .”

The coriander seed has a shell that has furrows, resembling the stripes on Yeshua after the whipping he received at Pontius Pilate’s command. Coriander has to be beaten or ground in a mill before it can be used for cooking or eating. (Γεθσημανῆ Gethsēmanē G1068). Likewise, Yeshua was crushed with the burden of the sin of the world in his Gethsēmanē and was bruised and beaten during the two trials.

Yeshua spoke of the manna, revealing its true significance:
John 6:48-51 – “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

The Matzah
In Hebrew: matstsâh [H4682 מַצָּה]
Exodus 12:8 – “And they shall eat the meat on that night, roasted over the fire, and matzah, with bitter herbs, shall they eat it.”

Matzah is mentioned in the Torah several times in relation to the exodus from Egypt. Matzah is a perfect picture of the body of Messiah. First of all, matzah has no leaven. Leaven is a shadow and type of sin, and Yeshua knew no sin. Matzah also has stripes on it. This represents the stripes He bore for our healing. Matzah also has dark splotches over it’s surface from the baking process. This represents the bruises the He suffered for our iniquities. Matzah is also pierced so that it won’t curl up when baking. This represents the piercing that Yeshua suffered for our transgressions.

The Afikoman
In the Passover Seder meal the middle Matzah is taken and broken in two. This is the portion that Yeshua broke during the Last Supper when He said, “This is my body that is broken for you”. One half of the broken Matzah is wrapped in a white cloth and hidden, to be found later in the meal, so that the children will stay awake. This portion is called the Afikoman. We remember that Yeshua three times asked his disciples to “stay awake” (Matthew 26:36-46). We also remember that the middle person of the Godhead was broken for us at Passover, and hiding the middle Matzah is a picture of His burial.

The nation of Israel has been taking the middle Matzah, the afikoman, and doing this for centuries, not understanding that the Matzah that is broken, wrapped in a cloth, and buried is symbolic of Yeshua their Messiah.

The Blood:
Matthew 26:27-28 – “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant (διαθήκη), which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

The Paschal Lamb Covenant
The most common picture of the blood is the sacrificial blood of the Lamb poured out during the Passover sacrifices and shed by Christ on the cross.

But, is there more to the blood than just this picture? Indeed there is:

The Abrahamic Covenant
In Genesis, God pledged to Abraham that if either Abraham or himself would break the covenant, then God alone would shed his blood to fulfill the terms of that covenant. Normally, both parties would be pledging their lives to the endurance of the covenant relationship so the shedding of blood represented an inviolable commitment to loyalty on pain of death. However, in verse 17, God is the only one who walks through the blood sacrifice. Only He will pay the price with His life and blood if the covenant is broken. The covenant is restated in Genesis 17:2-9 and Deuteronomy 1:7-8 for the descendants of Abraham’s son, Isaac. Yeshua fulfilled this covenant when He shed His blood on during the trials and ultimately on the cross.

The Wedding Covenant
In a Jewish marriage, the husband-to-be (groom) would establish and pay the purchase price for the bride. Yeshua paid the ultimate price by being crucified and shedding his blood. He would then offer the cup of (the blood) betrothal to his prospective bride, thereby pledging his life to and for his bride. If the bride accepted this promise, she would then drink of the cup confirming that she, too, would pledge her life to and for her betrothed. In effect, both promised to shed their blood to fulfill the covenant.

Remembering Yeshua Rightly:
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 – “Yeshua, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’. In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’.”

Luke 22:19-20 – “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’. And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’.”

Have you ever been invited to a friend’s house for a meal, and all they served you was a broken cracker crumb and a shot-glass of juice? And then, they expected you to eat and drink the same small tidbits every time you thought about them? I don’t know about you, but I’d want to say: “What’s up with that? You’ve got to be kidding!”

Acts 2:42 – “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 2:46 – “And breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.”

Yeshua and his disciples were celebrating a Seder meal when Yeshua made the above statements about doing so in remembrance. The Seder is no skimpy meal consisting of only a broken cracker crumb and a shot glass of juice. It is a full meal, with a lot of filling items. It is a full blown banquet of a meal! If you’ve never been to a Seder, I recommend that you do so.

The disciples came together weekly to celebrate Yeshua’s sacrifice, his resurrection, and his promise to return and celebrate the meal with them. Paul calls this meal the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20).

In Greek, those words are kyriakos deipnon:
• Lord’s: kyriakos [G2960 κυριακός], meaning belonging or related to the Lord.
• Supper: deipnon [G1173 δεῖπνον], meaning supper, especially a formal meal usually held at the evening. It is used of the Messiah’s feast, symbolizing salvation in the kingdom.

Central to this meal was the loaf of unleavened bread, and the cup of juice or wine. This meal of remembrance symbolizes the future wedding banquet, the great feast (an elaborate meal associated with abundant heaps of food) that takes place when Yeshua returns with his Kingdom of Priests and Kings – his Bride! And what a celebration of fun, food, drink, and fellowship this will be. Just as the historical Seder was a dress rehearsal that looked forward to Yeshua’s first coming, the meal of remembrance is a dress rehearsal that looks forward to his second coming!

Serving a full, unbroken loaf of bread and drinking from one cup during a supper or feast is symbolic of unity as one body.

Remembering Yeshua Wrongly
Isn’t a broken cracker crumb and a shot glass of juice just about all one gets in a “church” during the “Lord’s Supper”, or as it is commonly called, “Communion”? Yeshua must be shaking his head and weeping openly and deeply over the way the “church” has botched the meal of remembrance. But wait, how many celebrate the meal in joy? Isn’t it more likely that soft music is played while everyone comes slowly, quietly forward with head bowed as if they were in a funeral procession? Uh huh, I thought so . . . . .

Turning the Lord’s Supper into a sad occasion with broken cracker crumbs and shot glasses of juice is symbolic of disunity and division. All I can say is: “What’s up with that? You’ve got to be kidding!”

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 – “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”
If you are taking the bread without fully comprehending that Yeshua is the bread (manna, matzah, afikoman), then perhaps you are taking the bread in an unworthy manner. If you are taking the cup without fully comprehending that Yeshua’s blood is the blood of the covenants and that in taking the cup you are pledging your life to Yeshua just as he has given his life for you then perhaps you are taking the wine in an unworthy manner.

1 Corinthians 11:30-32 – “For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”
Taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner brings judgment. Therefore, take the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner, for the time grows short and one does not want to be found wanting when Christ returns.

The Final Meal
Revelation19:9 – “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Once again, scripture uses the Greek word, deipnon [G1173 δεῖπνον] to describe the marriage supper of the Lamb. And this will be a full meal, a banquet, a great feast, an elaborate meal associated with abundant heaps of food! It is this meal that Yeshua tells us to pray for when we ask Yahweh to “Give us today the bread belonging to the coming day!” (Matthew 6:11, Luke 11:3).

Conclusions
Yeshua and his disciples were celebrating a Seder meal when Yeshua made the above statements about doing so in remembrance. Serving a full, unbroken loaf of bread and drinking from one cup during a supper or feast is symbolic of unity as one body. It is a full blown banquet of a meal! It is a full meal, with a lot of filling items.

The Seder is no skimpy meal consisting of only a broken cracker crumb and a shot glass of juice. Turning the Lord’s Supper into broken cracker crumbs and shot glasses of juice is symbolic of disunity and division. Taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner brings judgment.

Which meal do you eat?

Final Thought for 2023
The stage for Yeshua’s return is being set. Prophecy continues to unfold in an escalating pattern as foretold by the Hebrew prophets. The season of the birth pains is here – they are burgeoning and not going away. Time is short – Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is coming soon – be sure you have salvation in Yeshua and keep busy reaching the lost.

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